Referee:  P.Broadhurst (scouser). Refereed the corresponding match last season.

4 mins. An early replacement for the reds, as David May was forced to leave the field with a hamstring problem.
6 mins. Good work from Kerr, who robbed Stewart in the centre of the Manchester half, stepped forward and hit a low drive from 25 yards that wasn't too far wide.
7 mins. More sloppiness from the reds saw Green advance down the left flank and pick out Coppinger in the box. He rolled the ball home but played had already been halted by a raised offside flag.
13 mins. First real chance for Manchester, as Djordjic drove his shot across goal from just inside the left side of the area.  
14 mins. An identical attempt and miss from Notman, with Djordjic just failing to make contact at the far post.
24 mins. A push on Healy by Gary Caldwell resulted in a free kick on the edge of the Magpies "D". Healy took the kick and curled his effort on to the crossbar and away to safety, with Harper struggling to get near it.
27 mins. Gavilan attempted a shot which passed high over Ven Der Gouw's goal. The chance was created by a rare Ameobi knockdown header and a cross Green from the left.
29 mins. Good work from Studley and Djordjic down the left took McGuffie and Gavilan out of the game, and the Studley's cross was met by Healy, who couldn't prevent his header rising over the bar.
30 mins. Seconds later, Djordjic again found space down the left and played a neat ball infield, picked up Notman. His fierce low shot was turned round the post by Harper at the expense of a corner.
40 mins. Another timely interception by Kerr set Newcastle away down the right, and he slid a through pass into Ameobi. He made a yard by coming inside two defenders, but again his shot didn't trouble the keeper and flashed wide.
43 mins. An awful error from Gary Caldwell, as his careless ball out of defence was picked up by Stewart and he and Notman bore down on Harper's goal. However, hesitation by the latter player when he received the pass and didn't shoot quickly allowed a combination of keeper and defenders to block his eventual effort. A real let-off for Newcastle.
45 mins. The best move of the half for the visitors, as Kerr gathered the ball in midfield and Ameobi pushed on towards goal. Boyd was well-placed at his side, but his shot from just outside the box ballooned harmlessly into the empty seats behind the goal.
45 mins + 1. Gavilan ended the half by putting another aimless punt over the crossbar, after having taken advantage of momentary confusion between Man U defenders.       

Half time: MUFC 0 NUFC 0

46 mins. From the kickoff, the reds set off for the United goal, and their first attack was eventually foiled by Harper fisting away a cross. Newcastle broke through Gavilan, and he found the advancing Coppinger on the right edge of Van Der Gouw's box, but the keeper dealt comfortably with Copp's shot.
50 mins. Ullathorne fouled substitute Lynch down by the corner flag on the toon left, and Notman's free kick was knocked back from the far post by Wallwork for the unattended Greening to rifle home from 8 yards. 0-1.
57 mins. More self-inflicted problems for the visitors as Kerr lost out to Notman, just outside the Newcastle area. He threaded a pass out to the left, and Djordjic instantly returned it with venom into the box. Healy looked a certain scorer, but his attempted sidefoot flashed wide of the goal to the relief of Harper.
58 mins. Only momentary respite for the Magpies, as Gary Caldwell and Djordjic clashed on the left side of the area and the Newcastle defender was adjudged to have handled the ball as he went to ground and pushed it out of play. Notman drove the resultant penalty home, sending Harper the wrong way. 0-2. NB: the referee elected not to book Caldwell.
66 mins. Newcastle's defensive shortcomings were cruelly exposed as the reds drove upfield stylishly and Notman cut in from the left to feed Greening. He in turn controlled the ball and knocked it the waiting Wallwork on the penalty spot. With the defence totally static he had plenty time to volley home the third goal with a strong finish. 0-3.
67 mins. By now it was obvious that the home side were content to let their opponents retain possession of the ball, safe in the knowledge that they would be incapable of doing anything meaningful with it.
69 mins. With the home side taking a breather, the visitors attacked down the right through Gavilan, and he managed to play in Boyd, only for the inevitable sliced shot to pass well wide.
72 mins. An amazing escape for Newcastle, as goalbound efforts rained in from the reds. Notman started the move and again Djordijic on the left provided the telling cross in, to where Notman again saw his first shot blocked by Harper and his second attempt strike Caldwell en route for goal.
76 mins. In the midst of all this mayhem, the ball fell to Ameobi on the United left, who found Boyd in the centre circle. He spotted McGuffie overlapping on the right, and the youngster received the ball before laying it through for the onrushing Coppinger. He seemed a certain scorer, but crucially miscontrolled the pass, allowing a defender to make ground and block the danger.
81 mins. The goal of the game, as Stewart was allowed space to advance with the ball and strike a splendid drive from 25 yards that flew past Harper into his top right hand corner. 0-4.
84 mins. One more chance for Newcastle to get on the scoresheet, as Coppinger picked up the ball down the right and Bonvin broke into the area. His shot was tipped away by the outstretched boot of Van Der Gouw, which summed up a dreadful second half from the black 'n' whites.
88 mins. Healy found himself with space and time in front of goal, but Harper made a good save to deny him a goal. 

Full time: MUFC 4 NUFC 0

Waffle:

After we'd lost 3-0 here in February we said: "the contrast between free-flowing and incisive-passing Manchester and ponderous and toothless Newcastle was there for all to see." 

Well, nine months later, and despite Newcastle fielding only two of the team that were well beaten the last time, they appeared to have regressed from that insipid display.

Hopes were high once the interval had been reached without conceding a goal (all three had come in the first half last season), but after the break the "home" side simply moved on to another level and scampered through the Newcastle ranks at will.

The frustrating thing is that the young Reds didn't blind us with skill or trickery; basic things like the defence playing as a unit and the forwards moving into space and above all, accurate passing from all the outfield players proved our undoing. Newcastle did none of those things, and in addition managed to spurn any scoring opportunities that came their way, either electing not to shoot when chances presented themselves or else failing to hit the target with lamentable finishing. The only positive side to our shortcomings was the fact that reserve 'keeper Steve Harper got a good workout and was called into action, making several decent saves. Cold comfort indeed.... 

After having beaten a sub-standard Sheffield Wednesday side last week, reality once again intervened and Tommy Craig's men came back to Earth with a bump. At present things aren't looking too hopeful, and with over one third of the season remaining, much work remains to be done to restore the side to a league position approaching respectability. 

Learning how to play as a defensive unit and scheduling some extra shooting practice seem to be as a good a place to start, and puncturing several over-inflated ego's might also prove beneficial.....   

Biffa.